Facts in Brief

Abuse can happen in any family, at anytime, no matter one’s age, sexual orientation, level of income, or devotion to one another.

The abuse can be verbal, emotional, sexual or physical.

Conflict most often begins when the abuser needs to either maintain or regain power and control in the relationship.

Common areas for conflict include determination on how money is spent, and over the management of the children.

Female partners in a common-law relationship are four times more likely to be victims of violence than married women.

Violence is more likely to increase when the wife is pregnant.

Immigrant and minority women are more prone to domestic abuse, less likely to report it, and find it harder to get help when they try to leave abusive home environments.

Family violence isolates children, damages their self-esteem, and can spawn psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, feelings of guilt and suicidal tendencies.

In 50-70% of cases where one parent is abusing the other, the children are being abused as well.

Growing up in a violent home can lead some people to turn against their own children when they become parents, or to abuse their adult partners.

50% of Canadian women who were physically assaulted also experienced sexual assault by the same partner.

Sources:
Royal Canadian Mounted Police; Canadian Panel on Violence Against Women;
Grant L. Martin, PhD; Canadian Council on Social Development; Statistics Canada.

"My husband struck me on my honeymoon. He killed our first child by kicking the four-month child out of my uterus. My doctor asked me what did I do to make him so mad, our minister reminded me that I had married for better or worse, the lawyer wanted to know where I would get money to pay the fees, and my mother told my husband where I was hiding."

The Burnaby Safe House is a second-stage shelter for abused women and for vulnerable pregnant women. We are a non-profit charity serving the vulnerable in our community. All peer counselling services are provided free of charge – a gift from individuals and the church community to those in need.